Fusion
'' |image= |series= |production=40358- |producer(s)= |story=Rick Berman and Brannon Braga |script=Phyllis Strong and Mike Sussman |director= Rob Hedden |imdbref=tt0572212 |guests=Enrique Murciano as ' Tolaris', Robert Pine as Tavin, Vaughn Armstrong as Admiral Forrest and John Harrington Bland as Kov |previous_production=Shuttlepod One |next_production=Rogue Planet |episode=ENT S01E17 |airdate=27 February 2002 |previous_release=Shuttlepod One |next_release=Rogue Planet |story_date(s)=Unknown (2151) |previous_story=Shuttlepod One |next_story=Rogue Planet }} =Summary= Enterprise is near the Arachnid Nebula when it is hailed by Captain Tavin, of the Vulcan vessel Vahklas, which is in need of repair. On Enterprise Tavin says that they left Vulcan eight years previously, and their mission is to explore themselves rather than the galaxy. Sub-Commander T'Pol identifies them as V'tosh ka'tur, Vulcans without logic. Captain Archer reports that the repairs will take up to four days and that they should use that time to explore the nebula. He also observes that T'Pol has been avoiding the Vulcans, encouraging her to keep an open mind. In the Mess Hall, T'Pol is joined by Tolaris, who comments that she has been affected by human society in more ways than she realizes. T'Pol reports that a full nebula charting mission would take several weeks. However Vahklas has translinear sensors that would cut the time down significantly. On the Vahklas, T'Pol expresses curiosity that the Vulcans display the likeness of Surak but reject his teachings. Tolaris has no regrets in exploring a balance of reason and emotion, and asks T'Pol not to meditate that night and to experience her dreams. Later, she does dream - she is in San Francisco, walking around disguised in the evening. The memories then blur with thoughts of Tolaris acting provocatively towards her. She awakes and visits Doctor Phlox, who tells her that it would be unwise to change her routine too quickly. Later, Tolaris asks T'Pol what her dreams were like, and he tells her about the Mind Meld, an ancient technique abandoned by Vulcans centuries ago. When she tries to end the meld, Tolaris persists, until finally she forces him away. Archer later summons Tolaris and informs him that T'Pol is now recovering in Sickbay. Tolaris becomes violent, forcing Archer to ask the Vulcans to leave. Later T'Pol is meditating in her quarters when Archer tells her that ship has departed. As he turns to leave, T'Pol asks the Captain if he dreams. Archer replies that he does, sometimes even in color. T'Pol then asks the Captain if he finds it enjoyable. He replies that most nights he does. T'Pol then says "I envy you". =Errors and Explanations= Continuity # During T'Pol's conversation with Captain Archer in his office, when Archer says, "You've been busy avoiding them," T'Pol is shown from the front holding a pad at chest level. When the shot changes a second later, showing her from her side, she's holding the pad down below her waistline. She could have lowered it at that precise moment. Nit Central # SMT on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 7:19 pm:Wow, Kov the Stout Vulcan sure gave up The Big Vulcan Sex Secret fast, and in front of two high-ranking officers. I wonder how that little fact never got into human databases, where Kirk and McCoy could have dug it up when they needed it that one time. The High Command may have used the group’s lack of ‘orthodoxy’ to convince Starfleet that the revealation was untrue. # Kov says his father told him he had brought shame to fifteen generations of his family. Not exactly a nit, but where does that number come from? With the Vulcan respect for antiquity, I'd think it'd go even farther back. Just puzzling. As Archer will point out to Trip in Carbon Creek ‘You’re forgetting how long Vulcans live’ Presumably, a standard Vulcan generation is longer than a human one. # SMT on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 7:28 pm: Oh yeah, and the mind-meld was abandoned centuries ago?!?!? I hope Berman & Braga know where they are going with this, because a century from now it's going to be back in vogue among Vulcans, the kind of thing that Starfleet officers and ambassadors know how to do and can pull off without complications. It would be great to see some hint of the coming shift in Vulcan customs later in this series, a triumph of arc continuity. TomM on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 7:29 pm: So mind-melding is an almost forgotten practice, discouraged if not forbidden? Rene on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 8:21 pm: About mind-melds, didn't Spock say call an ancient technique in Dagger of the Mind (I think that is the name of the episode)...if so, then Enterprise is being consistent.Seniram 12:02, September 22, 2018 (UTC) Again, the banning of mind melds in this period could be due to the influence of the High Command. # LUIGI NOVI on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 7:49 pm: T’Pol says during dinner in the opening scene of Act 1 she spent two years at the Vulcan consulate on Earth, but Trip mentioned to her in her quarters in Breaking the Ice that she had spent only one year among humans. She probably spent the rest of the time among her fellows Vulcans. # Kov tells trip and Reed that Vulcans are driven to mate once every seven years. So why did no one seem to know this in Amok Time (TOS) when Spock underwent pon farr? It was probably heavily classified (ie hushed up) for the sake of Human/Vulcan relations. # In what way does the concept of "fusion" pertain to this episode, other than being the name of the Jazz club/restaurant that T’Pol visited on Earth? oinosakai on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 8:37 pm: "Fusion" as in a Vulcan mind-meld. "Fusion" as in the blending of logic and still experiencing emotion. "Fusion" as in the two ships joined at the hip. "Fusion" as in the kind of reaction that produced the nebula. "Fusion" as in the Vulcan ship's engine (?) There are probably more 'fusions' to find . . . TJFleming on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 7:52 am: 1. Fusion cuisine: as in Chef's recipe for chicken marsala starts with fused McNuggets. 2. Furazabol (ouch): the "Ben Johnson" anabolic steroid that gave Tolaris the strength and "motivation" to throw Archer across the room. # Sparrow47 on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 3:48 pm: I liked how Archer was willing to be thrown around the room by Tolaris instead of having security show up, which is definitely what Janeway would have done. ScottN on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 3:55 pm: Well, Archer is physically a lot bigger than Janeway, who by her own admission, is a "size 4" (Bride of Chaotica!). Category:EpisodesCategory:Enterprise